Bakersfield, California

Bakersfield California is one of the best places to be in the western part of the country. Aside from having incredibly fair weather and hundreds of days of sunshine per year, the area is about as economically robust in its growth as one can get without actually being in a bubble of some kind. For over 100 years, this city has been a massive center of economic power and production. Located in the heart of California, Bakersfield is linked to a large number of different cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, which helps it to trade the crops, cars and oil it produces with a wide range of other places all over the world.

However, Bakersfield isn't just a great place to find work. While work is an important, the local people and their cultue leave a lasting mark. The local community has become very proud of its city. Affluence is a major theme in a number of neighborhoods within Bakersfield, with many of the better neighborhoods being associated with golf courses of their own. Bakersfield is economically sound and thrives with culture.

Bakersfield has a lot to offer those who enjoy city life as well as the outdoors. The city also has a bustling nightlife, various places to eat, places to see and can also offer you a great shopping experience. It is also an area of history and culture.

Bakersfield History

Bakersfield California has been known by many names since its inception, including Alkalai City, Kern Island and Baker's Field. The area was first explored by Europeans in 1776, when the Spanish missionary Father Francisco Garces set foot there. However, few Europeans went into the area until the 1820s and the Mexican settlers who appeared there. The San Joaquin Valley became a hot spot for prospectors in 1848, when gold was discovered in California. Settlers poured into the valley in 1860, establishing the first few log cabins and experiencing the harsh effects of the marshland. Flooding and malaria were some of the hard knocks experienced by the intrepid early setters.

In 1869, the town was named Bakersfield to commemorate a man named Colonal Thomas Baker, who had come to California during the gold rush and moved to the Kern River's banks in 1863. There he had built a new settlement to replace a prior one which had been washed away by flooding. Bakersfield was not actually incorporated as a city until 1873, though. By 1874, with the mining town of Havilah dying out, Bakersfield replaced it as the seat of Kern County. Since 1880, Bakersfield's population has steadily gained momentum in its upward race.

The early part of the 20th century saw Bakersfield experience one of its first major leaps in population, after incredible masses of oil were discovered in the soil not far away. After the second largest oil gusher in United States history slopped 9 million barrels of crude onto the ground in 1910, the area was essentially guaranteed to keep growing. However, not everything was bound to come up roses for the people of Bakersfield. In 1952 an earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale rocked the town and the surrounding area. While the initial earthquake only caused minor damage and no loss of life, over the next few months aftershocks killed several people and cost the city some of its precious old landmarks.

Bakersfield's economy is robust. As a production center, the latter half of the 20th century saw the city attract a very large number of production facilities, which included the largest ice cream manufacturing plant in the world. Also during this time, the population swelled by unbelievable proportions, with the population growing by a factor of three during a thirty year period. Between 1980 and 2010, the population went from being just over one hundred thousand people to being well in excess of three hundred thousand. Other local towns have actually annexed land adjacent to themselves in order to keep Bakersfield from swallowing them whole.

About Bakersfield, California

Bakersfield California has gone by a host of different names in the past. At one point it was known as Kern Island, and then it was called Baker's Field. For a little while it was even known as Alkalai City. The Yokut Native American tribe built their lodges in the area for thousands of years prior to the incursion of European and European American settlers, and the Yokuts lived basically undisturbed until people from Mexico began to enter and explore the area. It was little explored for decades, until the discovery of gold turned California into a mad house of prospectors looking to strike it rich.

Bakersfield is the county seat of Kern County, which it claimed in 1874 from Havilah. The city itself is almost dead center between Fresno and San Francisco. Bakersfield is also a well-built community, having survived the 1952 earthquake's 7.3 Richter scale shaking with no loss of life and with only minor damage to some local structures. However, during a subsequent aftershock about a month afterward, several city treasures and a few local people were lost to the destructive shaking.

Bakersfield has several different regions, and each region is subdivided into neighborhoods and districts. Many  neighborhoods are affluent and a number of these neighborhoods are next to a golf course. However, just because an area reaches the city limits does not mean that the area is complete or won't expand any further.

Bakersfield is and has been experiencing a huge amount of additional growth and construction for decades. The area is abundantly warm, features a robust economy and can hardly grow quickly enough. Between 1980 and 2010 the area tripled, going from having roughly 105,000 people in it to around 347,000. This massive increase in population has strained every logistical resource the local government can muster. Regardless of the Great Recession of 2008's impact on the nation as a whole, even slowed down Bakersfield is still growing considerably.

Bakersfield runs primarily on its two greatest production capacities, which are oil and crops grown locally. However, the local scene is beginning to show ample signs of attracting more employers who appreciate the international ports easily accessible in Los Angeles and Oakland. As well, inexpensive land is also drawing in companies that are hungry to expand into this area. One way Bakersfield attracts companies is to keep no local utility and inventory taxes, allowing businesses to save money. Some products manufactured in Bakersfield include stock cars, central vacuum units, highway paint and ice cream.

About Kern County, California

Kern County is a very large producer. Aside from having a massive base of agriculture, it also produces huge amounts of natural gas, hydro-electric energy, power from wind turbines, geothermal energy and petroleum. Out of the state of California's more than 52,000 oil wells, 81% of them are in Kern County. This makes it the top oil production county in the entire state. The area accounts for 10% of all of the oil produced in the United States, partially because three out of the five biggest and most productive oil fields are located there.

Of course, oil isn't the only material found in Kern County. There is also a great deal of kernite, borate and gold. Borax is actually mined at the largest open pit mine in California within this county's borders. The military is also well represented here, with the Mojave Spaceport, Edwards Air Force Base and China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station all being housed in Kern County.

Europeans began to enter Kern County in 1772, but the area didn't really take off until the 19th century. In 1894 the tide turned dramatically when an enormous oil field was discovered within Kern County. In 1910 the trend continued with the Lakeview Gusher, which spilled 9,000,000 barrels of crude oil onto the countryside over a year and a half before workers could get it capped. This was the second largest oil gusher in United States history, and solidified the area as a premium oil powerhouse.